Profile
Stephen Batchen
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About Me:
Hello, my name is Stephen, I am 37 and currently live and work in Glasgow, Scotland. I am a civil engineer and specialise in bridges, and outside work I enjoy spending time with my family, going to the cinema, eating out with friends and volunteering – supporting the future engineers like you!
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Read more
Over my 15 year career so far I have worked all over Scotland and the north of England on lots of different bridges – some of the biggest I have worked on are the Forth Rail Bridge, Kessock Bridge and Kingston Bridge. My favourite part of my job is the fact that every day is different! You can really never plan what you are going to do, it always changes depending on what is happening.
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My pronouns are:
He/him.
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My Work:
I am a Civil Engineer working in the Rail and Civils team of the business in Glasgow – bridges, tunnels, lighthouses, marinas – and everything in-between. We have offices all over the UK, so I work with a very big team of people.
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My Typical Day:
Every day I am working from home, or in the office from 8:30am. My day starts with reading my emails, and then starting to action what needs done. In my role I do a lot of speaking to clients, other teams in the business and working with the design team on projects. I sometimes go out on site to see things we have designed, and also have meetings out of the office. So I have a very different day, every day. That is what I really like about my job.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would spend the prize money on making a new resource that links between what all of our offices do in the area they are. So my office could focus on our projects in the Glasgow area and distribute this to the local schools. With all of our offices we should then have a really good coverage of our involvement of projects across the UK, written for the young engineers of tomorrow.
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Education:
I went to school in the Highlands, in a small town called Invergordon. And from there I went onto study in Edinburgh at Heriot-Watt University.
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Qualifications:
In school I did Standard Grades (now called National 5s in Scotland) and Highers, before going to study at university.
I did English, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Art & Design, French and PE.
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Work History:
In school I worked part time in a restaurant and then as a lifeguard.
At university I was also a swimming instructor.
Since I graduated I have worked for a number of different companies, but always within the civil engineering teams – this has involved in the design offices, or being on site delivering projects.
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Current Job:
I am the Technical Manager in the Rail & Civils team in our Glasgow, Scotland office.
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Employer:
Fairhurst
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Lots of bridges
What did you want to be after you left school?
I always wanted to be a civil engineer
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No, I won an award for services to the school
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I did always think about being a pilot as a different option
Who is your favourite singer or band?
OneRepublic
What's your favourite food?
Pizza
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To be able to have more holidays, to have my hair back and to be able to own my own business
Tell us a joke.
The river asked the bridge for a lift; it replied, “I’ll help you get over it!"
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